India’s manufacturing PMI slips to 58.8 in April from 16-year high in March
The headline Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), released by HSBC, slipped to 58.8 in April from a 16-year high of 59.1 recorded in March.
India’s Services Purchasing Managers’ Index softened in April but remained sturdy on robust domestic and foreign demand, lifting business confidence to a three-month high, a recent survey has said.
According to the survey compiled by S&P Global, the HSBC final India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index, fell to 60.8 in April from 61.2 in March, confounding a preliminary estimate for a rise to 61.7.
Despite the decline in the headline reading, the figure still marked one of the fastest growth rates in just under 14 years.
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Activity in the services sector has been above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction since August 2021.
The report further said that the favourable market conditions and buoyant demand pushed the new business sub-index to a three-month high, the third-highest in around 14 years.
“India’s service activity rose at a slightly softer pace in April, backed by a further rise in new orders, with notable strength in domestic demand,” said Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC.
“Although new export orders remained robust, they showed a slight moderation from March.”
As per the survey, the operating costs increased at a high pace stemming from elevated raw material and labour costs. However, the rate at which firms passed on the burden to clients softened from a near seven-year high in March.
However, growing business optimism failed to create jobs at a significant pace. Hiring was muted although the current sequence of job growth extended to almost two years.
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